The athletic department at Columbia Bible College underwent a facelift this week, as the Bearcats announced the hiring of three new head coaches.
Dave Martens is leaving his position at the helm of the Mennonite Educational Institute senior boys basketball team to take over the CBC men's basketball program. The other new Bearcats bench bosses are Duncan Harrison (women's volleyball) and Sean Bosko (women's basketball).
The transition with the CBC women's hoops program has been in the works for a while – Jay Duke is moving on after three years at the helm, and Bosko has been recruiting since January.
The decision not to bring back men's hoops coach Mike McLaverty and women's volleyball coach Janelle Rozema, according to CBC athletic director Rocky Olfert, is part of a new direction for the Bible college's sports teams. A greater integration of spiritual mentoring with athletics is the goal.
"The decisions weren't easy to make," Olfert said. "But the new coaches we have coming in here really tie into the vision that we're trying to accomplish."
Martens, in addition to his work with the MEI Eagles, has coached for the University of the Fraser Valley's Junior Cascades and the Athletes in Action programs.
"It's a great opportunity to have a new challenge, and I jumped at it," said Martens, an MEI grad who played his university hoops for the Trinity Western Spartans. "One of the challenges for me is to not only make the school attractive to elite-level players, but also to make our program attractive for them as well."
Harrison worked on staff with the women's national program in the early 1990s as the team prepared to qualify for the Barcelona Olympics. He's coached the senior girls squad at Chilliwack's Highroad Academy for the past six seasons, leading the team to a trio of provincial Single A titles.
"Balancing competitive athletics with discipleship in the lives of young people while maintaining focus on the overall vision of the college itself is a wonderful challenge and opportunity," Harrison said in a press release.
Bosko brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to the Bearcats. He was an assistant coach for a Highroad team that won the B.C. Single A crown, and has been active with the TransCanada basketball club.
"Having helped many athletes succeed and move onto the college and university level I look forward to assisting athletes move on in life," Bosko said in a release.